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You get what you pay for with this one but does the job

My kettle broke and i needed a replacement the same day. The only shop I could get the was the local supermarket. They didn't have a large selection of kettles on sale and with my only criteria being that it needed to be black to match my kitchen I opted for this Russell Hobbs one. I would usually pay about £40 to £50 for a kettle but as all the kettles were prices under £25 I just went for the one branded black one on the shelf. I must say I was pretty impressed to get a kettle from such a well known famous brand for under £20! I unpacked the kettle and I soon realised why it was so cheap. The black plastic is very dull and matte looking. It makes the kettle look really cheap and flimsy. The on switch is also really flimsy and you need to press it very gently as any harder and it feels like you will break it. A blue light comes on in the water level when boiling and this is quite an attractive feature. Does exactly what you need a kettle to do, boils in about minute, isnt too noisy and makes a nice cuppa! I don't envisage the kettle lasting very long and will be replacing soon.

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"Ease of use"

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a fairly good alroungd kettle

==Russell Hobbs 17896==

I generally don't seem to have too much luck with kitchen appliances and the last time I purchased a new kettle and toaster together I decided to not go for the cheapish ones I normally go for and plash out on a little bit more expensive ones and ones that matched too. Unfortunately these lasted around 18 months (just out of the guarantee period!) and therefore I have gone back to buying ones that are relatively cheap and cheerful.

Of course, when I purchased this black Russell Hobbs kettle from my local Tesco Extra store at a price of £18 it wasn't the cheapest they had on the shelves but it was the cheapest branded name and one that would fit in with my kitchen colours. Having just had a quick look online it would seem that only Tesco's doo this particular kettle unless I am very much mistaken and it also seems that it is probably the cheapest price you are going to pay for a Russell Hobbs kettle of any sort.

I have had the kettle now for a number of months and it is still going strong (it will, I expect, wait until the 1 year guarantee to start going wrong!). It is a decent sized kettle and holds about the same, maybe a little less, than my last kettle did at 1.6 litres. It has a separate baseplate which the kettle comes off from making it easy to fill up and easy to clean.

There is a push button which flicks up the lid of the kettle giving a bigger area to fill the kettle up from rather than using the spout. The spout however inside the kettle does have a little mesh filter which is there is catch any undesirable scummy bits that may be poured out into your cup. This will need to be slid out and cleaned from time to time to prevent any build up but is easily done. Also the flat bottom of the kettle which acts as the element will need descaling from time to time but this is the same with any kettle and with the right bits is easy enough to do and takes to real time or effort.

The kettle is a black plastic design which I thought looked very sleek at the time, however I do find it seems to attract the dirt and I am forever wiping it and re-wiping it even a lot more than my last cream coloured kettle. It is however in keeping with a few other items I have in my kitchen and the fact that it is plastic makes the cleaning pretty easy to do. I also have found that the kettle itself is rather light in weight even when it is full up to capacity which is also a bonus as no one wants to be picking up a wrist bending kettle and pouring out a cup.

There is a little cup gauge on the side of the kettle and this is printed on a clear section of the kettle allowing you to see the water line and judge how many cups you are to get from how much water you have just filled it with. These things annoy me as it is always done in cups rather than mugs - who actually drinks from a cup nowadays I would like to know., So when the fill line indicated 4 cups it really means 2 mugs (it's the little things that get to me!).

The kettle isn't too slow on the boiling front and even when full to capacity it will only take a couple of minutes. I tend not to fill it up as it's only even a cup or two I need (mug I should say) and this takes around 1 minute of waiting to boil. The flip switch is on the bottom of the kettle near the base plate and illuminates orange when flicked. It doesn't feel particularly sturdy but it does the job well enough. When the kettle is boiling it is a little loud and it can be heard easily from my front room thus the TV needs to be turned up if you're watching it. However because its pretty quick to boil it doesn't bother me too much and I hardly get anyone else making me a brew so I'm always in the kitchen doing other stuff while waiting for the kettle.

On the whole I think for £18 this kettle is a fairly good purchase. It is a nice size and I have never needed to refill and the speed with which it boils cannot be faulted. It may be a little loud but because it's fairly quick it doesn't matter. It is a relative cheap and pretty cheerful kettle.

I think a good rating of 5 out of 5 stars is in order for this Russell Hobbs kettle as I can't find fault and thus would highly recommend it.

I do hope this has been of some help/interest to you

Many thanks for taking the time to read.

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Everything

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A great kettle!

First off I feel that I must point out that I did request a link for the kettle I am about to review and Dooyoo have told me to post my review here. As you can see from the review photograph at the top of this page this is a black Russel Hobbs kettle, referred to as the Black Buxton however mine is the same feature and appearance wise as this kettle shown though mine is white, to go with the rest of the white appliances I have my kitchen!

For me like many people reading this review a kettle is of the upmost importance to me. I love my hot drinks and the likes but since I have had my own flat I have always simply gone out to a supermarket and bought which ever kettle was the cheapest to be honest then when its broken down I simply have always nipped back out and replaced it without feeling too downhearted for the sake of about a fiver. They have always served me well. However after totting up that about 6 kettles have broken down on me over the past 3 years I decided that not only did I want something hopefully more reliable but nicer looking and more sleek too and from a brand as I knew of as it was time to upgrade some of my appliances from the cheap ones I have always purchased and got by with.

This one I bought from my trusty Freemans catalogue and usually has a retail price of £30.00 though at the time I bought it and still now as I type this review out it is on offer for £25.00, I did feel this was quite pricey to be honest but simply liked the sleek look of it and I do own a few good Russell Hobbs appliances already.

So just to be clear this is model number 17869 and is white and that's the only colour you can order get this one in.

It came in a box with the round base wrapped in see through plastic as did the kettle and it had a plug already attached on to a short power lead thank goodness and I was good to go. On the outer box we were told all about the specifics of the kettle and inside there was a white leaflet giving us yet more information and contact details for the manufacturer were given too.

So the base and the kettle are good quality, sturdy and smooth, glossy white plastic...easy to wipe clean. The kettle has a capacity to boil 1.6 litres of water and you can see that when you fill it as it has strips of see through frosted plastic to each side of the main of the kettle and it has 3kw of power so its actually a pretty fast boiler and rather powerful.

It also has an auto boil cut out feature so that if you don't fill it to the minimum water fill requirement it cuts out and it has a detachable filter to the inside of the nozzle which is easy to remove, wash and clean.

It glows blue to the windows of it when switched on, the kettle has a 360 turning on the base and the integrated handle is large and the on and off switch is situated to the top of that handle and that switch clicks off by itself of course when the kettle is fully boiled. My only little niggle with this is the short power cable it has however I just use my kettle right up by it!

Its easy to fill due to the lid being hinged though I am lazy and fill it through the nozzle 9 times out of ten and like I stated earlier it is a quick boiler this.

Not only is it a great to use kettle as well as fast this just looks really nice too. I tend to like white appliances as they look clean and this is plain but nice looking and quality too with the only branding on it being in silver writing to the base of it that tells us it is Russell Hobbs kettle.

All in all I am really glad I bought this one. Yes 25 quid seemed more than I would usually pay out at the time for a kettle but for a good looking, easy to use and lightweightish kettle that is fast to boil and looks so nice especially when in use due to the blue light it emits and I am mighty glad that I bought it!

Do Google this if interested in it and like I say it is available to purchase from Freemans at the moment with a fiver off the usual retail price for a limited time only (www.freemans.com)

This review is also posted on Ciao under this same username.

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It simply does its job

This kettle was bought in conjunction with a Russell Hobbs toaster (see separate review). A matching kettle of a good price was the requirement and this was fulfilled, though for a kettle on its own I perhaps wouldn't choose this one.

To me, a kettle and a toaster are basic kitchen necessities, though I don't tend to use either a huge amount. For this reason it's more important that they look nice rather than have a huge range of features. This one matched the said toaster and the rest of the kitchen well - it was black, simple and clean looking. I must say however that it looked slightly on the tacky side to me. I don't necessarily believe in the saying 'you get what you pay for', but in this case I would value it at exactly what it cost, about £15 from a supermarket.

Its main function is to boil water, and this it did speedily and reasonably quietly so the kettle has to be praised for that. Its elements are located within the body of the kettle so it is a rapid boil. The kettle seems to almost go past boiling - it doesn't stop as soon as the water starts to bubble, it continues for up to 10 seconds after this, boiling so violently that the kettle almost shakes. I quite like this though as it means its job is well and truly done!

There is a switch on the back of the appliance which is flicked down in order to switch it on. This is the simplest of switches and lights up orange to be sure its on. The only other button is at the front of the lid, which is de-pressed in order to open the lid and fill with water. My slight bugbear with this is that the lid doesn't fully open and therefore requires a hand to hold it open. This is a bit awkward for me as I have a bad left arm/hand so not being able to fill a kettle one-handed is a a bit of a pain.

On the other hand the kettle sits on a base which is connected to the socket. The kettle itself is completely cordless so can be removed for filling and pouring, and can be spun 180 degrees during boiling to point the steam elsewhere (I turn mine round so steam doesn't rise under the cupboard above).

As with most kettles this one has a clear water fill indicator atr the front, so you can see exactly how much water is in the kettle without touching it. A nice touch to this is that this is measured in 'cups' rather than litres. This feels a bit more human, and actually means more!

In summary, it does its job well, but I wouldn't pay more than £15 for it.

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This kettle looks well made and stylish

My kettle had stopped working- I had to find a replacement fast! I'd saved my Tesco club card vouchers and it just so happened that their 'double up your vouchers on small appliances' offer was on. There was a lot to choose from but I settled on the 'Black Buxton' kettle by Russell Hobbs as I always find this brand reliable.

This kettle is priced at only £22.97 which is a reasonable anyway but it only cost me £10 worth of vouchers and a couple of quid in cash which was great!! It can be found cheaper online and the white one is a slightly cheaper but the black one is more stylish I think.

The box it came in was the usual- black with a picture of the kettle on the front, a leaflet with all the information for use was inside. It tells you to boil a couple of times before use

The kettle is black with a silver grip inlaid into the handle with matching flip top non removable lid. It's cordless with a black 360º base, not too long cord and a black plug. It has a window so you can see how much water there is in it and a water level indicator (measured in cups). The only light up feature on the kettle is the switch which lights up in orange. The switch itself is easy to flip on and feels good quality. There is a limescale filter in the spout but I don't know how effective this is as the water is soft were I live so I don't have to clean it often. It holds 1.6L of water which is plenty and means that I don't have to boil it twice when I'm making pasta etc. The concealed element makes it easier to clean if I do ever have to descale it. The most important thing for me though is it's got a 3 kw rapid boil, I hate waiting for slow kettles to boil.

The kettle boils very well and as fast as any other rapid boil one I've had, the noise level is about the same too. It takes a couple of minutes to boil enough water for one cup. The spout pours the water out in a steady stream without going everywhere. I've had no problems with it. I keep an eye on it when I'm boiling it full of water but it's never caused me concern- doesn't bubble out of the spout or anything. Maybe a bit of a nuisance is the spout filter it's a bit tricky to put back on when you've took it off to clean. It doesn't leave a plastic taste to the water.

A sturdy kettle which I would buy again.

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A very good mid-range kettle

A few months back now we finally had to say goodbye to our ancient, long-serving Mellerware electric kettle. It had no water gauge, it wasn't cordless, it wasn't pretty, but my it lasted. It was well over ten years old, and was purposefully bought BECAUSE it had no gauge to leak out of, having gone through several prettier and more pricey models that had sprung leaks in that particular location. It eventually began to decompose on the outside, of all places, with the plastic flaking off, so with great sadness we said goodbye to our faithful friend, and looked for a replacement.

We were going to Tesco anyway, so we surveyed their available stock. This Russell Hobbs 'Buxton' model kettle seemed to fit our budget - not too expensive but not overly cheap, reasonable reputation, and they had a black one in stock (I fancied a change from the off-white that ours had become with age). It cost around £24 if memory serves. All of the current designs seem to be cordless, 360 degree bases, with flip top lids and low on/off switches and this was no different. It works well, its covered element is fast to boil, and has a decent 1.6 litre capacity, marked from 0.5 litre minimum, then at 4, 5 and 6 cup levels.

The transparent lever switch lights up orange when it's on. When it comes to the boil, it continues for a few seconds until it's really boiling hard before switching off, something which I appreciate as you feel that any impurities that may creep in have really been dealt with. I like having a black kettle, it looks somehow more stylish than its white counterpart (it's available in both), and it's a lot more modern-looking than our old dilapidated model. In fact it's a bit conspicuous in our not particularly up to date kitchen, but I like to see it as a promise of things to come, in looks at least!

So on the whole it's a reliable piece of equipment, but inevitably there are a few niggles. For the first couple of weeks there was a terrific smell of hot plastic every time you boiled the kettle. This transferred to whichever drink it was that you were making at the time, and I was concerned for a while that the taste would never go off. As usual, the only advice pre-use was to fill it, boil it and discard that first lot of water, which I did. Unfortunately the nasty taste lingered on. Thankfully though after around a fortnight it did eventually stop happening and now drinks taste absolutely fine.

The lid is my biggest ongoing gripe. It doesn't open up to a full 90 degrees, so trying to get water into the kettle in the first place can be quite awkward, particularly if you're having to use a jug to fill it, when I find the water easily ends up going down the sides because of the tricky angle of approach. It's also difficult because of the filter. It's the first time that I've had a kettle with one of these, and I find it quite obtrusive, since the water can also bounce off it when trying to fill the kettle. It's not particularly effective either, since any scale it's trying to catch will inevitably be washed around the sides or over the top of the thing if you pour the water out too enthusiastically.

Trying to clean the filter is another tricky issue, since you need to remove it. Now this I suspect is more difficult with this black version of the kettle, purely because it is incredibly dark in there, but the small lid and poor opening angle again are also problems here. Trying to angle the open kettle under a light while you try to dislodge the filter from its small plastic clips, and then doing the whole performance in reverse when replacing it, is not an easy job. I have already holed ours by accidentally putting a finger through it. I suspect that I'll probably just leave it out completely soon, and return to giving the kettle a good rinse every morning as I used to do with the old one in between de-scales.

The base was an interesting dilemma at first, since the kettle did a merry dance when it hit the hard boil. I have had to find the best position for the kettle to be placed on it, despite the fact that it's supposed to be perfectly even, to stop it from out-dancing Strictly.

To sum up - it's an adequate kettle, it boils well, pours well without dripping back (but pour slowly if you haven't de-scaled it recently), and looks stylish. The niggles are just that - none of them is serious enough to make me take it back, but others may feel differently. I feel that it more or less fits in the price range - it's good enough, not perfect, but adequate for the price.

3.9.13 - an update: Most importantly it goes through brief phases of not switching itself off when it's boiled. This mean that someone has to be near and paying attention when it's being boiled. This may sounds normal, but anything can happen to distract. I have now permanently removed the limescale filter as it just became too much of a nuisance, and the mesh within it had split when I was trying to refit it after cleaning. I now just give it a thorough rinse every day to shift any floating bits of limescale, which I'm happy to do. Perhaps more annoyingly though, the lid now sticks closed, with the release button no longer triggering the catch. I have found a way around this, which is to 'release' the button while at the same time applying pressure to the spout end of the lid, pushing it backwards rather then downwards, which results in the lid popping open. It's a bit of a faff but it works. I resent the idea of having to spend out on another kettle so soon, so while it is still safe to use (electrically speaking), I'm happy to persevere with it!.